Are there any herbs that will help with pain relief?

Answers

Topical capaicin (found in chili peppers) is useful for some people, but it takes a few days to work. Feverfew is effective against migraines and arthritis, and side effects include canker sores and oral inflammation. St. John’s wort is helpful for muscular pain. There are many other herbal remedies as well, but most of them are for arthritis pain. Keep in mind that pregnant women should avoid a good number of these, and you should always consult your physician before self-medicating.

This site lists herbs that help in relieving chronic pain, such as skullcap, cannabis, turmeric, poppy, willow bark, angelica, motherwort, lavender, cayenne, and many others, including oils of some plants like pine, peppermint, and cinnamon. The site also recommends particular dosages of certain herbs to take to help relieve pain, and recommends that you act quickly with a remedy so that acute pain cannot over time turn into debilitating chronic pain.

There are a lot of herbs about there that will help with pain relief. The two contributors above named a lot but here are a few more that can help: While Willow Bark, Boswellia, Devil’s Claw, Bromelain, Curcumin, and even Ginger. I will attach more information about each bellow.

It depends on what type of pain you are experiencing. Arnica is available in creams and gels at most pharmacies and many health food stores. Arnica is used primarily for pain associated with injuries such as sprained ankles, pulled muscles, and general muscle aches (http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/arnica-000222.htm). Ginger and peppermint are great for helping with stomach and abdominal cramps. Ginger extract can help with joint and muscle pain as well as inflammation. Turmeric can help with arthritis pain and heartburn, although long term use can cause indigestion.

There are loads of herbs used to alleviate various types/sources of pain in Traditional Chinese Medicine, like ligustici wallichii (chuan xiong), schizonepetae (jing jie), and ledebourellae (fang feng), which are featured in several headache remedies. There are hundreds more herbs like this, readily available over the internet. There’s also supplements made from plum flower and white flower, as well as yucca and more at this site. Other herbal remedies can include skullcap, cannabis, Valerian, turmeric, poppy, willow bark, St. John’s wort, angelica, motherwort, black cohosh, wild yam, lavender, peppermint, cinnamon and rose. Essential oils of pine, lavender, peppermint, cinnamon, rose, clove, frankincense, rosemary, ginger, juniper, bay and birch are also well-documented analgesic agents. For more, check out blessedmaineherbs.com for some great resources.

Adding to the previous answer, Devil’s claw is a South African herb you can also try. It eases muscular tension or pain in the back, shoulders and neck. Their active ingredients are “harpagide and harpasogide both iridoid glycosides with analgesic (pain-relieving) and anti-inflammatory actions”.